Top 7 differences between shared server and dedicated server

​We are currently living in a technologically advanced era where technology has become one of the most important parts of everyone's lives. Whether you talk about day to day activities or business workflow, different types of technology is being used everywhere.

From AI to big data, there have been many new technological introductions that have the potential to completely change the world. But the one technological evolution that is acting as a base for all the technological advancement is cloud. The very famous a popular cloud technology has become the base of all the new technologies that are coming up.

But one of the biggest misconceptions regarding cloud is people consider it to be only a single platform. You should know that cloud computing has evolved a lot and now there are different types of cloud computing applications and types available in the market. From simple cloud storage to cloud hosting, you will get many cloud applications and that’s what makes cloud an ultimate solution. But in addition to this, there are different forms of hosting servers available in the market and choosing the best one depends on your needs and requirements. And in this blog post, we are going to talk about two such servers available for cloud hosting; shared server and dedicated server.
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When it comes to hosting on the cloud platform then you will get many options and that’s where people get confused and start thinking where to start from and which one to choose. This is why, in order to simplify things, we are going to focus on the two most famous servers for hosting; dedicated server and shared server. We are going to look at the 7 main differences between these two servers so that can decide which one is best for you on your own.

1. Management

​If you will be using a shared server then you will have less administrative access and configuring the server or simply the platform according to your specific business needs will not be possible. But if you are working on a shared server and if it goes down because of any issue then you can be sure that the technicians will take care of the issue and maintain the uptime of the server while allowing you to maintain your business flow. If you will use dedicated server then you will have more administrative control over the server but you will also need to posses good technical skills because you will be the one responsible for keeping the server up and running. So with great power comes great responsibility.

2. Performance

​When it comes to performance then we can say that shared servers are way ahead of the dedicated servers. You should know that when you will choose dedicated server then you will get guaranteed performance from the cloud hosting provider but that is not the case with the dedicated server as all the responsibility of maintaining the performance of the server will be on your own IT team. So, if you are wishing to have guaranteed performance and don’t want to go through the hassle of management then you should definitely choose shared servers.

3. Security

​If you will be using dedicated server then you will have the advantage of using all types of scripts, software, and you can also install different types of security software solutions if you are planning to add an extra layer of reliability on your software solutions. When you will be using a shared server then you will get security layers like double-factor authentication, encrypted data, anti-virus system, anti-malware system, firewall protection, round the clock monitoring. So as you can see, if you have good resources then you can make dedicated servers secure and safe and on the other side, the shared server comes preinstalled with different security layers.

4. Cost

​The cost of both the servers is also a main point of difference. If you will choose a dedicated server then you will have to pour lots of money as you will have to pay for the whole server and all the resources of the server will be used by you. In addition to this, you will also have to pay expenses of the IT team that will manage the dedicated server. So, overall, the dedicated server is very costly. But on the other side, a shared server is a very cost-effective way of hosting as the resources of the server are distributed among different users and that’s why you pay only for what you use. This makes the shared server a good option for all the small and medium-sized businesses.

5. Technical support

​When it comes to any type of IT solution then technical support plays an important role. You should know that if you will choose a dedicated server for hosting then you will not get technical support with it as your own IT team will be working on it and it will be you who will be managing the IT team. But that is not the case with the shared server as the hosting provider offers round the clock customers support.

6. Control

​If you are looking forward to having complete control over the server then a dedicated server will be a better option for you. In dedicated servers, you will have more control over the platform as you are the one who will be using all its resources. But in the case of a shared server, you will have less control as different users also be present on the platform, using the resources.

7. Technical skills

You don’t need to have any type of IT background or technical skills if you are going to choose the shared server as everything, in this case, is managed by the cloud hosting provider. But if you are going to choose a dedicated server than having technical skills becomes paramount as you will be the one taking care of the server and no one else will be taking care of it.
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So, as you can see both the dedicated and shared server have their own advantage and disadvantage and it all depends on your specific needs and requirements.